dwtbd

When I use the term AV , I use it to identify any and all positive thoughts about future alcohol use. All my thoughts are mine and not separate from 'me' , but it is helpful to segregate certain thoughts and focus on their content.
Thoughts like 'just one more time ' or 'just to be sociable' or 'that was good/bad I need to celebrate/soothe myself' are thoughts that if I acted on would mean I decided to drink which would go against my decision to commit to abstinence, run foul of my Big Plan.
The 'AV' is a metaphor for the thoughts and feelings about alcohol use that I have , recognizing and dismissing them is what I call kicking the AV's butt, though I do not view 'it' as an actual entity separate from myself, they're my thoughts (they just suck).
Prior to consciously identifying those types of thoughts and deciding to not act on them, it felt like 'something' had control over my poor choices and perhaps that gave me some comfort in a way , in that it wasn't 'entirely' my fault . My addiction wasn't entirely my own doing 'something' some how was victimizing me and to whatever degree I was at its mercy.
Once I changed perspective , looked at the fact that it was just 'me' in 'here' , I was able to realize I did have the power to make better choices , pretty much right when I stopped looking to blame something , anything other then my thoughts and my actions.
And I gained faith, too. Faith in myself, I no longer doubt whether or not I 'have' what it takes to be a quitter, right when I realized I should never have had the thought in first place, all that accomplished was inaction in ending my addiction.
That being said, get out there and kick some AV butt! (It really is a mind game, a very winnable one!)